New York-Pilar-Lake-Felix-Benji-Mia-Andrew-Armando and Isabel-Aftermath

Disclaimer: I do not lay claim to existing characters, familiar plot points, nor anything that may be considered intellectual property of the creators of Love, Victor or other content related to this story. I do not intend to use this story for commercial purposes, nor shall any other party be permitted to do so.

AN: Hello all! If you made it this far, thank you so much for sticking with the story! This is the last of the New York perspectives, and I really hope you enjoy it! Next will be Pilar's perspective, so I hope that motivates you to continue reading! Also, a reminder that this will be the last chapter I post on because the story is moving to AO3. Don't have an AO3 account? That's fine! You can use it as a guest! The link to the story on AO3 will be at the end of this chapter. Once again, thank you for reading!

New York Part 7 – Simon:

Simon's Perspective:

I get a text from Bram.

Bram

He's here. I'll keep you updated throughout the day.

I nervously anticipate how the day will go. I know that there are a lot of things that could potentially go wrong with me not there. I wish I could be there, but my cousin is getting married, and I have to support him in that.

As I spend the morning checking the details once again, I wonder if Victor will open up to Bram and my roommates. He deserves someone he can talk to and make him feel safe.

An hour or so later, I get another text from Bram.

Bram

Apparently, he's our "pre-frosh." At least, that's what he told the others. This is going to take more work than I thought.

Simon

Do you know what you're going to do now?

Bram

Yeah, I have a plan.

Simon

Which is?

Bram

I'm going to take him to go play basketball.

Simon

That's perfect. Let me know how it goes.

I trust my boyfriend. I hope Victor can too. The gay basketball league might be exactly what Victor needs to see. I know that he came here because he wanted to feel a sense of belonging. My roommates will obviously be accepting of him, but a reality that is quite apparent is that he has a much different personality from Ivy, Kim, and Justin. I can see how Victor might be a little overwhelmed if those three are the first three he meets, especially since he won't really see what he has in common with them before he opens up. I'm glad that Bram can think on his feet.

The day goes on, and the bachelor party starts pretty early. My cousin, Bill, wants it to last a long time and go all night. He's quite the party animal. For me, it's quite a lot to put up with.

I don't hear from Bram very much during the day. I text him to see what's going on.

Simon

How did basketball go earlier?

Bram

Great! We played for a few hours.

Simon

That's good to hear.

Bram

Yeah. And he opened up. He came out to Justin, Kim, and Ivy.

Simon

Glad things are going well!

Bram

And we're taking him with us to Messy Boots tonight. He was hesitant about it at first, but now he's kind of excited to go.

Simon

That's awesome! Have fun!

They're going to Messy Boots?! That's so amazing! I am super relieved to hear that Victor was able to open up. Bram did a good job today. But I can't help but to think that despite the fact that I've seen Victor grow over the past few months, I'm not there for him now.

The bachelor party goes on, but I feel bad that I can't see Victor. He expected me to be there. He came to New York to see me. And I'm not there.

"Bill," I call over to my cousin a couple of hours into the party, getting his attention, "I'm not feeling well. I have to go. I'm sorry."

"No worries," Bill tells me, "Thanks for coming!"

"Of course! Congratulations, man!"

I text Bram.

Simon

I'm going to meet you guys there.

Bram

Awesome! Can't wait to see you!

I get up, gather my things, and leave the party. As I go outside, I notice a light rain starting. It seems to be moving east, towards New York. I get on the train into the city, and then I take the subway to my apartment to drop my stuff off. No one is there, so I figure they're already at the club or they just left. I take the subway over to the street where the club is, and I get off, a light rain continuing to cool the air.

"Victor!" I call out to a person standing on the sidewalk who I assume to be him.

He looks over at me, confirming that it's him. "Simon?" he asks.

I'm so glad that I'm finally getting to meet him.

"Hey, man!" I greet him. I say again as I wrap him in a hug, "Hey! God, I've been texting with Bram, and I just felt so bad about missing this whole thing that I – I left the bachelor party, and…"

I trail off. I notice something is off. He didn't hug me back when I hugged him. He didn't smile when he saw me. He's standing there, staring at me apathetically as I speak. And why is he outside to begin with? I see his body weighed down by the wet shoulders of his collared shirt, and his hair is down over his forehead because of the rain.

"Wait, what's the matter?" I ask him. "Why aren't you inside with everyone else?"

"Look," he begins shakily, and then pauses, "Simon, I trusted you."

What? What happened?

He continues. "I thought that what I told you stayed between us, but now I realize this whole time, you've been sittin' around with your friends laughing about my stupid messed up life!"

Oh no. One of them slipped. It must have just happened. But still, why would he think that? I genuinely care about this kid, and it breaks my heart to hear him assume that that's what we've been doing. I'm quite caught off guard by the accusation.

"W- No! Victor, that's not – that is not what happened, I swear!"

I know that I have to choose my next words carefully. He needs an explanation, but I have to give it in a way that comforts him, not one that makes it sound like I'm defending myself.

"Look," I begin to explain, "When you first messaged me, I was touched. Really. But, I – you know, I was scared too. Like, I know you want me to be this, like, guru who has all the answers. But the truth is I don't."

I struggle to find the right words to say in the moment because I don't want to say anything that will make him stop listening. But that's just the truth. I'm not some mighty all-knowing being who holds all of the secrets of the universe. I don't have the answers for Victor's life, either. I only know as much about his life as he shares with me. I can only know as much as he knows.

I continue, "And I didn't want to push you too hard or tell you the wrong thing. Or make your life any harder than it already was."

Victor listens attentively.

"And, look, like you said in your first message, we're not the same." At this point, I realize that this calls for an explanation of how my friends fit into the picture from the beginning. So I give him that, "I never had a girlfriend, but Bram did. And I – I didn't have super religious parents, but Justin did. Every one of my friends had a little bit to offer, a little piece of the puzzle. They weren't sitting around laughing about your life; they were in your corner, listening a-and helping a-and cheering you on."

"Why would they want to help a complete stranger?" he asks, still seeming down.

At this point, the tension in my body drops. In front of me, I see a broken child, one who no one has ever offered to heal. I see someone who is broken and doesn't know that when an object is broken, that doesn't necessarily decrease its value. I see someone for whom strangers haven't moved to kindness before, someone who just needs somebody in their life to lift them up because they struggle to do it themselves. Someone who feels left out and isolated and alone.

"Because you're not a stranger," I say to him with a smile, getting his attention. "You're one of us. To me, that's the best part about all of this. Having a community. A group of friends that gave up an entire weekend to help a kid that they've never met just because they know that on some level, we've all been through the same thing. Because we're family."

It's quiet for a moment. Victor's expression softens. The rain gives his skin a glow I hadn't noticed until now. He begins to smile softly.

"So, uh," he finally says to break the tension, "is it always this cold in New York, or?"

I laugh with him. Any tension that was previously between us is now gone.

I look around, and I suddenly become aware of the jacket that I am wearing. This jacket is special to me. But I forgot until now that I even had it on. That has never happened before. Whenever I've worn it, it always reminded me of my story and my strength. But I don't think I need it for that anymore. I also remember Bram's promise, and I would hate to see the power that it has literally go up in flames. Maybe it's time for it to be passed on. Maybe it's someone else's turn to wear the denim armor.

"Here," I say as I take off the jacket. "A little something to remember your weekend in the city."

I hold the jacket out for him, and with pride, he steps into it.

"Also, Bram said that he would uh, burn it if I wore it one more time," I admit humorously.

He laughs.

"Shall we?" I gesture for us to go inside and join the party.

He nods, and we enter.

"Ah! You're back!" Bram says, and I assume he is addressing both me and Victor. He pulls me in for a hug. Man, I miss him, even after being away for just a day and a half.

Ivy hugs Victor and apologizes. I assume she is the one who slipped up. He seems to forgive her immediately.

"Why is nobody dancing?" Justin says with his usual amount of sass and, to Victor's surprise, pulls Victor out onto the dance floor.

Bram and I both laugh, and we stay back.

"You were just in time," Bram tells me with a small chuckle.

"Yeah," I say. "I could see that. Today went well?"

"Very," Bram says.

"I'm glad."

"I see Victor got a new jacket," Bram teases.

"Yeah," I joke, "I'll let him make the questionable fashion choices from now on."

"Actually," Bram says with a smile, "I like it on him."

We both laugh.

I catch up with Victor somewhat later in the evening. I stand at a table getting something to drink, and he walks over to me.

"Seems like you're getting along well with my friends," I say.

"Yeah," he smiles and lets out a small chuckle. "Sorry, I know I came here to see you, but-"

I interrupt him by gesturing for him to go over and join the group that he has been a part of all day. He smiles, and he rushes over to them. I am happy to see that he has found solace in them, too, and not just in me. They're great people.

Katya Zamolodchikova, the drag special guest is introduced. To my surprise, Katya motions to Victor and calls him up on stage. He hesitantly and somewhat uncomfortably approaches the stage.

"Yeah, Victor!" I shout out in support for him.

"What's your name, honey?" Katya asks him when he gets to the stage.

"Uh," he clears his throat and says nervously, "Victor."

"How's your night going, Victor?"

When Katya asks this, I see Victor look over at Bram, Ivy, Kim, and Justin. Then I see him look over at me. I give him an encouraging smile.

"Uh," he says, and he gives a wide smile "It's been the best night of my life."

The crowd cheers. I hear my boyfriend and our roommates cheering louder than anyone else. I join in. I am happy and proud of the day that my friends and I gave this kid. He deserves it. Based on our months of messaging, it was due time for him to feel this amazing.

When we get home, we're all tired.

"What's the earliest bus you think I could take back to Atlanta?" Victor asks me.

I laugh. "Don't worry, man. We'll get you a plane ticket so that you can be back in school on Monday."

"Okay," he chuckles.

He departs Sunday evening.

The next morning, around 7:00 a.m., I have some sort of feeling. It's one of warmth. I'm not really sure where it comes from, but I feel comfortable. I feel like I'm being held tight in someone's embrace. I somehow feel more like myself than I ever have before. I smile warmly at Bram, as we eat breakfast together in the morning.

"What?" he laughs as he notices my sudden soft smile.

"I don't know," I say. "I just feel good today. Like I'm a part of something bigger than myself."

"Like what?" he asks, laughing.

"I don't know," I say.

Bram laughs again, but the feeling doesn't leave me.

As soon as Monday afternoon, Victor sends me another message. Seemingly, he's coming out to Mia and things with Benji aren't operating all that smoothly. Despite his great weekend, he's still having a tough time. But now that he knows that he has a crew in New York that he can count on and trust, I decide to be blunt with him. I let him know that telling Mia will be hard. I give him advice about Benji. I expect him to keep me updated.

I don't hear anything else from him the rest of the week until Friday. He didn't tell Mia on Monday. He's going to the Spring Fling with her. I remember the Creekwood Spring Fling. I only ever went once, and I went with Bram in our senior year. It was a special night. But Victor is holding on. Something tells me that he's not ready for his entire world to change yet. I've been there.

I spend much of the day Friday pondering the advice I want to give him. In the evening, it comes to me.

Simon:

Victor,

I totally understand wanting to give Mia the perfect night before you come clean. But here's the thing about the truth – you can't control how people will react to it. All you can do is be honest with the people you love. The rest is up to them. Whatever happens, you'll always have me.

Love, Simon

The words I say are the most genuine that I can muster. I will be with him through whatever happens. This kid's story has been crazy so far, and I have a feeling that it's about to get even crazier.

Next: Pilar

AN: Thank you for reading! As promised, here is the link to the story on AO3. See you all there

/works/27583115/chapters/67474946